U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,667 granted Apr. 2, 1974 to Charles W. Jones and Dwight L. Stetler discloses apparatus for forming a carton of the type that the apparatus to be described hereinafter is intended to form. The carton itself is generally of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,300 granted July 31, 1973 to Charles W. Jones, and a somewhat modified blank from which the carton is formed is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 628,444, filed Nov. 3, 1975 by Mitchel J. Matovich, Jr. It is a carton of rectangular cross-section, preferably formed from a T-shaped blank of polyethylene coated paper board. The T-shaped blank provides four side wall panels, an end one of which has integral therewith two end-closure panels which, after the blank has been formed into a tube of rectangular cross-section, are folded down upon and sealed to the open ends of the tube.
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,677 the carton blank is provided on one of its sides with an access flap to which is attached on the inside of the carton a straw or sipper, and the liquid content of the carton may be consumed by lifting the access flap thereby exposing an end of the sipper from which the contents of the carton may be drawn into the mouth. In the formation of the carton by the apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,677 both ends of the carton are closed and sealed prior to the filling of the carton, and in accordance with the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,943 granted Dec. 4, 1973 to Charles W. Jones the carton is filled by lifting the flap and filling through the access aperture, after which the aperture is sealed by the application of a length of tape covering the access flap which has been pressed back down into the access aperture. The apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,677 closes and seals both ends of the carton simultaneously, and this precludes the utilization of a mandrel against which to close and seal the bottom of the carton.